Elizabeth Bush retired from the Virginia Tech Plant Disease Clinic (VTPDC) in December 2023 after 19 years of practicing plant diagnostics.
She earned a Bachelor’s degree in horticulture and worked as a Lab Technician Senior in the Plant Pathology Department at Virginia Tech. In 2002 she earned a Master’s degree in Plant Pathology from Virginia Tech for research using molecular techniques to characterize species of Phytophthora causing root rot in horticultural crops.
The skills acquired in her thesis research qualified her for a job at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, where she further honed her skills in molecular biology. After three years, she returned to her true love of plant diagnostics, joining Mary Ann Hansen in the VTPDC, where she rapidly advanced to Research Associate Senior.
Elizabeth brought molecular biology to plant disease diagnostics at the VTPDC. Collaborating with researchers, she played a significant role in developing genome and metagenomic projects and computational tools.
She was a very active and well-known participant and in multiple NPDN committees and was known for her leadership. Furthermore, she was recognized for outstanding service to the NPDN at the 2016 NPDN national meeting and placed first among the Rotten Tuber Awardees in 2019.
Along with Mary Ann Hansen, Elizabeth has been the contact person for thousands of stakeholders within the Commonwealth of Virginia. Her diagnoses of thousands of plant specimens saved growers hundreds of dollars in cross-crop losses.
Elizabeth has been a good friend and colleague to many NPDN members and we will miss her! All her contributions to the network will continue to help new diagnosticians.
Happy retirement, Elizabeth!
